Chapter 27: Haze
Pang Xing said tremblingly: “Young Master Wei…”
He looked like he wanted to beg for mercy, but then he seemed to remember something and swallowed the words, saying instead: “Do as you wish.”
Wei Xun said: “You admit it?”
Pang Xing said: “Since you can even find out about this, why are you asking me? Yes, I did it…”
Before he could finish his sentence, it turned into a scream. In his fury, Wei Xun’s hand twisting Pang Xing’s wrist actually dislocated his wrist joint with a sickening crack.
Pang Xing trembled with pain, and fear also surged in his heart. However, after a pause, he still insisted on finishing: “Anyway, your family has power and influence. You can do whatever you want. I have nothing to say.”
Wei Xun fell silent for a moment, then laughed instead: “Quite a backbone. I really didn’t see it.”
Pang Xing closed his eyes.
Wei Xun smiled and said slowly: “In your second year of middle school, you were sent to a juvenile detention center for injuring someone in a school fight. After you were released, you never went back to school. You worked as a porter, a professional thug, and a security guard before finally being introduced to the Mu family. Your parents are both dead, you’ve never been married, and you’re the only one in your family. No wonder you’re so reckless. Do you think I have no way to deal with you?”
Pang Xing let out a cold laugh: “There are times when even you rich people have no way. Serves you right.”
Wei Xun said: “To harm someone and still be so self-righteous… the extent of your shamelessness truly surprises me…”
He suddenly reversed the gun handle and slammed it hard against the other’s forehead. Blood immediately welled from the wound. Wei Xun suddenly raised his voice: “So rich people fucking deserve it from you? Did we steal our wealth from your family? If you’re a loser, go reflect on yourself; don’t blindly envy others! If you still won’t speak, believe it or not, I’ll have someone kill your daughter first?”
Pang Xing’s body gave a start, and he immediately opened his eyes to look at Wei Xun. After a while, he said: “I’m not even married, where would I get a daughter.”
Wei Xun said: “You’re not married. But isn’t it because the marriage didn’t happen in time before Chen Yuan ran off with someone else?”
Hearing the two words “Chen Yuan,” shock swept through Pang Xing’s eyes, and then that shock slowly turned into despair. He looked at Wei Xun’s young and handsome face and realized that this young master didn’t seem as easy to deceive as he had imagined.
Wei Xun observed his expression and knew that Pang Xing was wavering, so he said slowly: “You’ve done too many wicked things. Your girlfriend left her newborn child and walked away. You didn’t dare keep the child by your side, so you lied and said she was a foundling and sent her to an orphanage. But you go to see her five or six times a year, and once you even bought her a teddy bear… Dandan, right? Is that child nine or ten years old this year?”
Pang Xing said: “Young Master Wei! I’ve followed you for so long, and I thought you were a real man who treats people well. What kind of ability is it to trouble an innocent child?”
Wei Xun let out a cold laugh, but his heart was aching. He said through gritted teeth: “Your daughter is innocent, but was my brother not innocent? How did he ever wrong you, Pang Xing?!”
His personality was straightforward but not impulsive, so Liang Pingzhao had remained silent on the side. At this time, seeing Wei Xun so emotionally agitated that his hands were shaking and his finger was on the trigger as if he might press it at any moment, he finally became a bit worried. He quickly went up to block Wei Xun’s wrist and called out softly: “San Shao!”
Braced by him, Wei Xun regained some of his logic. He let out a heavy breath, let go of Pang Xing, and stood straight. Liang Pingzhao took the opportunity to take his gun away, and Wei Xun didn’t object. He only said: “Speak. Tell me everything clearly. My patience has reached its limit. Pang Xing, I’m telling you, don’t think I’m just scaring you with empty words; I’m capable of anything right now.”
Looking at his expression, no one would doubt the credibility of those words. Pang Xing paused and finally said: “Someone paid me to take Young Master Mu’s life. I don’t know that person, but he, he is very powerful.”
Wei Xun stood with his hands behind his back, using his boot to crush the cigarette butt on the ground every now and then without speaking. Pang Xing murmured: “From beginning to end, he was the one calling me. I’ve only heard his voice, but I’ve never seen him in person. At first, he said he would give me 200,000 after the deed was done. I told him to give me a 50,000 deposit first, and to my surprise, 50,000 actually appeared in my bank account. I… I didn’t dare kill at first. I thought I wouldn’t do anything and would just keep the 50,000. He’s someone hiring a hitman; surely he couldn’t report me to the police for cheating him out of money? That person told me to act on the 15th, but I delayed for a week and did nothing. On my way home from work, I was beaten up. When I got home, I found the door lock wasn’t broken, but all the things in my house had been smashed.”
Wei Xun was noncommittal: “So you became afraid?”
Pang Xing said: “At first, I was angry, extremely angry. I hardened my heart and thought I didn’t want the 50,000 anymore; I had to report this bastard to the police. My phone was broken, and my landline was smashed too. I went out intending to go to the police station to report it myself, but on the way, I was bagged and beaten again. They even took a knife and stabbed it into my leg, saying that if they didn’t still need me to do something, they would have taken one of my legs. No next time… there’s only one road from my house to the police station; they knew as soon as I stepped out! They know everything. If you go against that person’s wishes, you’re bound to suffer!”
As he reached this point, he gave a shudder, looking extremely fearful. Wei Xun, however, curled his lip with a touch of mockery.
Having heard this much, he generally understood. The whole thing wasn’t anything unusual; it was just the other side playing tricks. Such a ploy could scare Pang Xing, but it couldn’t deceive him.
Someone like Pang Xing had been a thug since childhood. Although he had no great abilities, he was definitely not the kind of person who would be obedient. If someone tried to force him to do something through head-on confrontation, it was very likely to provoke him. But being so mysterious gave an impression of being unfathomable, which made Pang Xing not dare to have any other thoughts.
It sounded supernatural, but in reality, installing a camera in Pang Xing’s house would solve everything. If the other side really had such great power, why would they go to such great lengths to find Pang Xing for Mu Jia Shu’s life?
He didn’t know if this person also had a listening device on him, but fortunately, Wei Xun was thorough. Before bringing Pang Xing in, he had taken his phone and checked his belongings. Besides that, a jammer was installed in this room; it could be said to be absolutely foolproof.
Wei Xun didn’t waste words on him. After a moment of focused thought, he found a key point: “Did you switch the medicine in Mu Jia Shu’s pocket?”
Pang Xing looked blank.
Wei Xun thought he probably couldn’t get close to Mu Jia Shu’s clothes, so he changed his question: “How did you know that Mu Jia Shu went back to his room that day to get his medicine?”
Pang Xing said: “That person told me to watch him closely that day and to take the opportunity to follow as soon as I saw him going back to his room…”
In that case… there was another person who secretly switched Mu Jia Shu’s medicine, and then Pang Xing took the next step. The person on the phone was the mastermind.
Wei Xun felt as if his heart were bleeding with hatred, yet he just couldn’t drag out the person behind the scenes. He had been open and cheerful since childhood and didn’t hold grudges, but only in this matter did he experience what true, bone-deep hatred felt like.
He simply couldn’t and didn’t dare to imagine the scene before Mu Jia Shu died. But in the middle of the night, those scenes would always emerge from his mind, as clear as if he had seen them with his own eyes. Wei Xun knew that given Mu Jia Shu’s personality, he had probably described the incident very nonchalantly; in fact, he certainly hadn’t told him about the struggle and pain in between.
He stood there, saying not a word and making not a single move, but that cold hatred was clearly felt even by the other two people beside him.
Pang Xing said: “Young Master Wei, I know I was wrong now… I actually regretted it long ago…”
Wei Xun only then returned to his senses and said coldly: “Too late. I already swore that I would not let go of anyone who wanted to harm him.”
Pang Xing froze, instinctively feeling that this sentence sounded a bit off. Wei Xun then murmured to himself: “Who exactly is that person? I will eventually drag them out.”
Liang Pingzhao said: “San Shao, your home has already called twice.”
Wei Xun knew it was mostly his parents urging him to go home for dinner. He nodded and said to Liang Pingzhao: “Send this person to the police station.”
Liang Pingzhao and Pang Xing both froze for a moment. Wei Xun said: “Tell Director Zhu that he stole something from our family and refuses to disclose its whereabouts, and I need a place to let him sit for a few days. Director Zhu will understand.”
Just as Pang Xing was about to speak, Wei Xun let out another cold laugh: “You’ve told me everything. If you’re not afraid that the person on the phone is so divinely powerful that he’ll really come to take one of your legs or your life, feel free to wander around outside.”
Liang Pingzhao had already reacted. He knew Wei Xun still had doubts about Pang Xing, but he just hadn’t shown them. He secretly admired this handling as being absolutely brilliant: “San Shao, I understand.”
Wei Xun said: “Thanks for the hard work.” He turned and left the room.
There was no one left in the company. He strode through the pitch-black corridor, his steps getting faster and faster. As he walked, he pulled out his phone and skillfully dialed a series of numbers. Just as the call went out, he hesitated for a moment and then hung up.
Wei Xun looked at the phone screen and let out a small sigh. Just as he was about to put it away, the screen suddenly lit up.
It was Mu Jia Shu calling him back.
Recommended Reads
